Tell Congress default is not an option: Editorial

D-Day is just days away. Default Day — Oct. 17 , when the U.S. Congress either raises the debt ceiling or the country defaults on its loans. It could upend the nation’s fragile economic recovery and throw the world’s financial markets into crisis. If that happens, it’s because our elected officials — chosen by the people of this country to represent our best interests in Washington, D.C. — have failed us.

Going into the weekend, there was hope that the worst won’t happen.

Thursday night, the White House and House Republicans started meeting after House Speaker John Boehner submitted a proposal to reopen government and for a short-term extending of the debt ceiling, But Friday, Obama rejected a portion of the deal and the financial markets closed with uncertainty about what they may reopen to.

It was a hopeful sign that the two sides even thawed enough to talk, but Americans must do more than hope. Americans must act.

We call on our elected officials in Southern California to do their part to end this ludicrous game of brinkmanship that brought a partial government shutdown on Oct. 1 and could bring a full economic meltdown this week. We ask Republicans to back off on their determination to kill the Affordable Care Act at the expense of the country’s economy. (Talk about destroying the village to save it.) We ask Democrats to stop refusing to negotiate. Being willing to talk doesn’t equal weakness; it shows respect.

You can call on them too — literally — and insist they not take the country over a cliff. Below is how to reach them.

Listings include phone numbers for district and Washington offices, respectively:

• Speaker of the House John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, can be reached at 202-225-6205

We would have added the White House’s number, but that’s closed during the shutdown; ask your Democratic reps to pass along your message to the president.

You can also interact with representatives via Twitter. @SoCalOpinion, the Twitter feed of the Los Angeles News Group Opinion sections, features a list of officeholders’ Twitter accounts, everyone from the president to the region’s congressional representatives to state legislators to mayors and city council members.

An earlier version of this editorial had an incorrect phone number for Rep. Buck McKeon’s Washington office.